Exploding in anger I glared at my name in bold as it lay next to the name of the main character, the heroine of the show. That little punk, now he's just asking to be sent to his grave early. I began to stomp to my next class, anger radiating me in a dark red aura as I slammed my hand against the door and slammed it against the wall, glaring inside where everyone gasped, jerking in their seats and immediately Tamaki sank lower behind his desk to hide.
My attention snapped to my desk, however, when I saw another giant bouquet of flowers, this time sunflowers and various other assortments with the card standing plainly in view this time. Feeling my final threads of restraint snap I stormed over to the flowers, took one glance at the 'K' that was written there.
"What does the message say this time?" One of the girls asked breathlessly, her eyes gleaming at the romance of it all but I just grasped the vase and flung the entire thing out the window, making everyone stare in horror.
"AND STAY OUT!" Unfortunately for me the teacher walked in at that moment and saw me toss the sunflowers outside, making her blink in shock before she gave me a studious look.
"Miss Araki, if we could please refrain from throwing flowers out of the window it would be very much appreciated."
"Yes sensei." I answered, taking my seat and forced myself to calm down though I made it my point to glare at Tamaki until he was quivering in his shoes. When lessons finished for the day I quickly slammed my hands down on his desk, making him shriek and jerk himself backwards in his chair. "Didn't I tell you not to give me a large role in your production? How is the main part in any way small?!"
"Don't be so upset Katsumi mon chérie. You won't be doing any speaking and the acting will come through your dancing so there's no need for you to be concerned, we all agreed that you were perfect for the role in every way." He stuttered uneasily, trying to smile but I didn't return the sentiment.
"In a way you have no choice." Kyoya said to me as he calmly gathered his things together. "Since your mother is our greatest benefactress, you receiving the main role was mandatory as a goodwill gesture." His reasoning made sense but that didn't mean I had to like it. "With her sizable donations we were able to hire a professional team to write an entirely new production so in essence, the Araki family are funding this stage show and it will only do for an Araki member to lead its success."
"I hate it when your arguments are bulletproof, Kyoya-kun." I muttered to him dismally before exhaling. "Okay fine, I'll play the stupid part but I refuse to play some damsel in distress. It'll only drive me crazy if I have to pretend to be some helpless woman in constant need of rescuing." With that I grabbed my bag and things, stuffing them all away before I walked out of the classroom and away from the school, taking the pleasant journey home at my own pace.
My bag was slung over my shoulder and I was already deep in thought. My list today was pretty simple. Call up Mizuki and ask about the progress of the break in incident, complete homework, make sure Kimiko does hers, get Naoki to have a bath, visit Honey, have dinner out at the restaurant Kimiko likes and that should be everything done for today.
Now, what to get Honey to cheer him up? Having a tummy bug was never any fun, he must be feeling rather rotten, especially seeing as he won't be able to eat cake. He must be tearing his hair out over the lack of sugar in him. As I walked along the street, a sparkle caught my eye and I turned my head to look into a shop window.
There were numerous glass figurines standing there, all freshly polished and perfect as the sunlight made them gleam effortlessly. My eyes were drawn to that of a small glass bunny, slightly pink in colour and it was standing up on its back legs, cleaning its nose with its paws in the most adorable way, even for a figurine. That's it! I've found Honey his get well gift. I bought it immediately and without question, thanking the shopkeeper before hurrying home with my bounty, feeling rather pleased with myself.
When I got home I rushed upstairs to get changed, sending a quick message to Mizuki who reported back that there were still no new developments as the guilty party had covered their tracks very well. She then proceeded to tell me that sales had now shot through the roof, that countries across the world were now calling in asking for supplies from our own chain so I arranged a meeting with her to discuss what was to be done about that.
Still undeterred by the lack of news concerning who had destroyed and stolen my earlier projects I had a shower, ordered Naoki to take a bath and warned him to be ready by the time we got back to go out to eat. I changed into jeans and a knitted sweatshirt, drying my hair hurriedly before I collected the glass bunny in its gift box and head over to the Haninozuka estate.
They recognised me instantly and allowed me inside where I was then showed up to Honey's room. I found him lying back in bed surrounded by cuddly toys and pillows, practically drowning in them. He had his eyes closed however when the maid quietly announced that I was here he sat up and beamed at me. "Kitty-chan! You came to see me!" He chirped and I found him suspiciously bright for someone who was supposed to be sick.
"Mori-senpai told me that you were unwell so I came over to cheer you up a little." I explained, giving a smile before pulling out my gift. "Here, this is to help you get well soon." Handing over the box Honey's eyes shone with wonder as I sat down on his bed, making myself comfortable at his feet whilst he opened the lid. Instantly he was sparkling.
"Bunny!" He beamed, picking it up from the box and turned it towards the light. "It's so pretty and cute! Thank you Kitty-chan!" He chanted, making me laugh however I then noticed the numerous rabbit figurines on his window shelf, instantly making my shoulders sag.
"I see you've already got plenty of rabbits though, I'm sorry I wasn't a little more imaginative." I apologised, feeling a little guilty. Why had I not noticed them before? I should have guessed Honey would have plenty of rabbit novelties.
"That's okay, I like yours the best Kitty-chan because it's from you and that makes it extra special." Honey answered with an adorable grin, placing the glass rabbit on his bedside table in a place all on his own. "I'm sorry I wasn't at school today, my tummy felt poorly." He said to me, pulling a rather sad face.
"That's okay Honey-kun, so long as you're feeling better then that's all that matters." I assured him as the door opened. Before I could turn to see who it was Honey's eyes had brightened and he sat up a little straighter.
"Takashi! Look, Kitty-chan has come to visit me and she even brought a present. Isn't it cute?" He lifted it up for Mori to see who I now refused to turn around to see, keeping myself occupied with rearranging Honey's blankets so that they were smoothed out.
"Yeah." He answered casually though I had the odd sense that he was watching me rather intently.
"Did you decide not to go to the host club because I wasn't there Takashi? Were you feeling lonely?" Honey gave a grinning wink.
"Not really." Mori lied, making me smile slightly as I then got up off the bed, giving an overenthusiastic smile and it showed in my tone as it was far too bubbly to be normal.
"Well then I'd better go! Kimiko wants to eat out and we've made reservations at her favourite restaurant to celebrate her success in the show, which means I have to go home and change and get all my homework done before we go out." I babbled, mentally slapping myself. "I'll see you later, get well soon Honey!"
"Okay then Kitty-chan, do you want Takashi to walk you home? You never know what might happen on the streets when you're all alone, we don't want you to get hurt." Honey said but I quickly waved my hands in front of me with far too much ardency, hastily trying to politely decline.
"No, no! I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself and besides, it's not that far." Quickly retreating towards the door I tripped over my own feet and landed flat on my rear, wincing slightly before I was back on my feet in a flash, laughing uneasily. "Whoops! I can be such a klutz sometimes." Finally my hand found the door and I opened it, giving one last wide smile to the two boys who looked at me as if I were insane. "See you later!"
The moment the door clicked shut behind me I smacked a hand to my face. What an idiot. Could this get any more embarrassing? Sometimes I think the universe just enjoys laughing at my expense for whatever reason it could conjure up. The walk home seemed to take much longer than the walk over, stretching on and on until finally I found I'd stopped completely in my tracks.
Lifting my head up I looked at the sky, wondering what I should do. I felt as if I were at a crossroads and I had to make a decision. The only thing was I didn't know what decision to make and what the question was in the first place. Was this just about Mori-senpai or was it something more? In some ways I could tell myself I was over complicating things, that I was thinking too much. Perhaps all I need to do is sit down and write out exactly what it was that was bothering me and then systematically try to figure out a solution.
Shaking my head I forced myself to get a grip, pushing aside all my concerns and focused instead on what was important, Kimiko. We had a wonderful evening, eating all our favourite foods and desserts at the restaurant with Yuri acting as our chaperone and chauffer, driving us there and back though instead of going straight home we decided to go to the movies just for fun and we ended up coming home a little later than expected.
Kimiko and I put Naoki to bed, the little tyke already fast asleep and snoring cutely and the two of us giggled over him before we crashed in my room, Kimiko already in her pyjamas. When I exited my bathroom with clean teeth and wearing my Pikachu sleeping shorts and a tank top, Kimiko was already curled up under my blankets with Eri purring at her as she stroked her soft fur. "Kimi? Do you want to talk about something?" I asked as I walked over, noticing the rather despondent expression she was wearing.
"Well, kind of." She admitted, biting on her lip and her hand went still, ceasing its petting of my kitten and Eri meowed indignantly before starting to claw at her fingers, demanding more attention so I picked her up and sat her on my stomach after I'd slid under the covers with Kimiko, nuzzling close until our fingers were intertwined and our heads resting against each other's.
"You can tell me anything Kimiko. I promise." Whispering to her she shifted a little closer, my rabbit and kitten tucked between us as Eri curled up on top of the blankets between us and went to sleep purring.
"I know, it's just…I don't think I'd be able to tell mom and dad. They won't…they won't understand." I think I have a feeling of where this is going. I know Kimiko very well, in fact I probably know her better than anyone just as much as she knows me better than myself. "You see, I'm actually…well uh…I'm…"
"You're bisexual." I said for her and her eyes widened, astounded that I'd figured it out so I gave her a grin. "I'm your twin sister, Kimi, you think I wouldn't notice? I saw how you were around Benibara, it was a little obvious."
"I didn't realise you knew, all this time I've been bottling it up because I didn't know how people would react. Why didn't you tell me you knew?"
"I wanted you to come forward with it first." I shrugged slightly in answer. "It's okay to be different, you know. Just because you're attracted to girls doesn't make you any less of who you are. You'll always be my adorable little twin sister and that's never going to change. You're just more fully yourself now than you ever were before." Kimiko's eyes misted over slightly before she smiled, giving a small sniff as she brushed aside the tears.
"Thank you Katsumi. For everything." I arched an eyebrow at her questioningly so she ploughed ahead. "I don't just mean for being so understanding and supportive, I mean for everything you do for us. You always make sure that Naoki and I are provided for, you take care of all the staff and Yuri, you make all the arrangements and took over the management of the house as well as the business without ever asking for help. You do everything when mom and dad aren't here and even when they are you always look out for us."
"Well that's my job as the eldest, isn't it? Besides, I kind of enjoy doing it. It makes me feel like I'm useful for something." I answered her honestly. "Listen Kimiko, even though mom and dad are away quite a bit and we don't really get much time with them, you have to remember that they still love us. Even me, in their own way despite my driving them crazy."
"I know. I just wish they'd stick around a little longer. It's almost like they're trying to run away from something but they won't tell us what it is." I've never thought of it like that. I guess Kimi was right, dad rarely came home, he was always visiting other countries for friends and relatives and whenever mom went with him, it was almost as if they never existed in the first place. Suspicious, I shall have to investigate. Perhaps when they eventually did come home I'd confront them over it.
Kimiko lay curled up together, my sister turning over sometime in the night and I naturally curled my arm over her waist and pulled her closer, Eri giving a squeak before huffing with irritation, clawing her way out between us before she made a nest for herself in the crook of my elbow as I hugged Chi-kun against Kimiko, holding the two of them in my arms as we slept peacefully until my alarm clock awoke us, making me groan softly and I slammed my hand on the button to silence it, falling back asleep once more until my sister poked me awake.
"Kat, Kat, wake up. Wake up Kat, it's time for school." I mumbled something incoherent as I buried my face into my pillow, Eri stretched out sleepily next to me. "Come on Katsumi, don't make me go to extreme measures." Kimiko warned but when I didn't respond, she picked up a pillow and whacked me with it.
For a while I lay there in shock, gaping into my pillow before I slowly sat up, my body acting limp and useless as I swung myself around to face her, a slow smirk spreading across my face. "You are so dead." I grinned wickedly before grabbing a pillow and leaping to my feet, standing on the bed and smacked Kimiko on the head with my weapon, making her squeal with laughter as an all-out pillow war ensued.